Pottstown woman sentenced for grill fork assault, two other crimes in Norristown

COURTHOUSE — A former Pottstown woman who used a two-prong grilling fork to stab her onetime boyfriend in the neck during an altercation in the borough is headed to jail for that crime and two others in Norristown.

Madelyn Anderson, 32, formerly of the first block of North Franklin Street, Pottstown, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Thursday to a total of 11˝ to 23 months in the county jail, to be followed by eight years’ probation, after she pleaded guilty to charges of simple assault, driving under the influence of alcohol and burglary in connection with incidents that occurred in Pottstown and Norristown between April and October 2011.

“Every day household items can become serious, dangerous weapons and in this case it was a grilling fork that was used to stab the victim,” said Assistant District Attorney Wallis Brooks, leader of the district attorney’s domestic violence prosecution unit, referring to the April 2011 stabbing incident inside the North Franklin Street residence. “It was a serious injury.”

Under the sentence, Anderson also must pay $50,270 in restitution to Reading Hospital and Medical Center, where the victim was treated for the stab wound. Anderson also is prohibited from having any contact with her former boyfriend as a condition of the sentence.

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Defense lawyer George Griffith Jr. argued against a state prison sentence for Anderson, pointing to evaluations that indicated she has substance abuse and mental health problems.

“Technically, she just spiraled out of control. Miss Anderson needs some support to sustain a crime free lifestyle. She needs a very strong support system,” Griffith said. “She is a person who needs intensive outpatient treatment. She is a person who deserves help. I don’t think she’s a person who has graduated to that state prison time.”

President Judge William J. Furber Jr., crafting a sentence that recognized the need for incarceration as well as Anderson’s drug, alcohol and mental health disorders, said Anderson must comply with all recommendations for outpatient treatment and counseling that are issued by probation and parole officials upon her release from jail.

“Hopefully, the defendant will now get the continued care and treatment that she needs, that she’ll be supervised for this lengthy period of time and she’ll get her issues under control and the public will be safe from these kinds of incidents,” Brooks said.

Anderson, who listed a new address in the 600 block of West Main Street in Norristown, showed no emotion and did not react to the sentence.

An investigation of Anderson began about 10:30 p.m. April 23, 2011, when Pottstown police responded to Empire Hook and Ladder Fire Company on North Franklin Street to investigate a report of a stabbing victim having wandered into the firehouse, according to court documents.

When police arrived on the scene they found a male victim who had “a large protrusion from the right side of his neck just below his ear,” according to the arrest affidavit filed by Pottstown Police Officer Frank Glaser.

“There was blood visible in this area and down the front of (the victim’s) chest and stomach,” Glaser wrote in the criminal complaint. “(The victim) stated he was stabbed in the neck by his girlfriend.”

Police encountered Anderson a short distance away on North Franklin Street, court papers indicate. Police discovered the broken end of a two-prong fork, “commonly used for grilling,” on the ground near Anderson, Glaser alleged in court papers.

“One of the prongs had a short section broken off. Anderson had a visible bloodstain on the right thigh of her jeans and some smeared blood on her right forearm,” Glaser alleged.

Medical personnel who treated the victim described his “puncture wounds as being consistent with the two-prong fork,” according to the arrest affidavit.

The victim was transported to Reading Hospital for emergency surgery and care, police said.

Anderson’s contact with law enforcement continued on July 27, 2011, when Norristown police charged her with driving under the influence of alcohol near Markley and West Marshall streets in the borough. Authorities alleged Anderson’s eyes were bloodshot and glassy, that she had slurred speech, was unsteady on her feet and had a strong odor of alcohol on her person. Anderson, police said, refused to submit to a blood test and was charged with DUI general impairment.

In the Norristown burglary case, Anderson was accused of illegally entering a home in the 300 block of West Main Street at 10:45 a.m. Oct. 29, 2011, through a window and demanding money from the female homeowner, according to court papers. The homeowner’s sons came to their mother’s rescue, grabbed Anderson and pushed her out the front door of the apartment. The victim later picked Anderson out of a photo lineup, identifying her as the intruder, court papers indicate.